Son Donates Part of Liver to Ailing Father, Transplant Successful

In a striking demonstration of filial love a British Youngman willingly came forward to donate more than half of his liver to his father, and the transplant has been successful.

David and Stephen Lomas, from Ulverston, Cumbria, were speaking after The 20-year-old David Lomas from Cumbria said he agreed to be a donor straight away when his father Stephen, 51, asked for it.

"I didn't know what he was talking about at first and I thought he meant he wanted me to get some liver from the butcher," he joked as he sat by his father's bedside. "But I just said yes straight away, without thinking really."

David was released from hospital a few days after the operation 11 days ago in which he donated 60 per cent of his healthy liver to his father.

David said he had been told to rest for a few months but his liver should grow back to 90 per cent of its former size and regain all its previous functions. Stephen said his son's gesture was "tremendous".

He said he became ill about three years ago. After a series of tests, he was told he had advanced liver disease.

"I just thought about the waiting list which is pretty depressing," he said.

"Then they told me about the possibility of a transplant I couldn't believe it. I'm feeling all right, considering. They're talking about me being discharged very soon."

This was the NHS's first adult-to-adult "live donor" liver transplant at St James's Hospital in Leeds.

Consultants in Leeds have already undertaken another "live" transplant since Mr Lomas and his son's surgery, which took place in adjoining theatres with city's four liver transplant surgeons present.

The surgeons believe the technique will offer new hope to the 300 plus people on the liver transplant waiting list at any one time. More than 600 patients have liver transplants in Britain every year with organs from dead donors.

But the number of donors is far exceeded by the number of patients waiting for a transplant. Specialists say about a fifth of these die while waiting.

Dr Charlie Millson, consultant hepatologist at St James's, said: "This is a tremendous breakthrough and represents the culmination of two years' hard work by the whole team here in Leeds.

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